


As Long As You Have Me

by Monroha



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bullying, Learning to trust, M/M, Making Friends, Panic Attacks, Social Anxiety, cute friends, protective kihyun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:08:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27718631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monroha/pseuds/Monroha
Summary: Changkyun has social anxiety. But Kihyun is confident that he can protect Changkyun from anything, along with their other best friend Jooheon. But now they are at university, and they can't avoid everyone forever.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Lee Minhyuk, Im Changkyun | I.M/Lee Hoseok | Wonho, Im Changkyun | I.M/Yoo Kihyun, Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Lee Jooheon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 134





	1. While I was gone

**Author's Note:**

> First fic in a while! Some characters (mainly Changkyun and Kihyun) are out of character for the sake of the story. Trigger warning for described panic attacks in first chapter and throughout work. This story is very special to me, Hope you enjoy it! - Jay

“Congratulations on graduating elementary school Kihyun!” 

Changkyun gave a big, gummy smile as he handed Kihyun a bouquet of red roses. 

“Oh… Thank you.” Kihyun responded, awkwardly holding it in one arm with the bouquet from his parents sitting in the other. 

But Changkyun continued to stare at him expectantly. When Kihyun only stood there awkwardly, his classmate sighed and shook his head. Retaining his smile, Changkyun explained brightly, “Kihyun, if I give you my bouquet then you are supposed to give me yours! Everyone got one from their parents and then we trade with each other.” 

“Oh,” Kihyun exclaimed quietly in realization, promptly giving his bouquet to the boy who held his arms out to him.

“Thanks!” Changkyun smiled even wider as he fondly inspected the colourful daisies. Kihyun looked around the schoolyard at the boys who had just graduated from elementary school. Some were taking photos with their families, but most were in the middle of the soccer field, trading and stealing bouquets from each other. Kihyun looked at the flowers he was holding and wondered who the original owner had been. Changkyun was friends with a lot of people, he must have traded flowers with everyone. Kihyun was lucky he had been in Changkyun’s class for their last year, or the popular boy would have never known who he was.

“Changkyun come take pictures with us!” 

The two boys turned in the direction of the voice to see a few of their classmates gathered together. The group was standing in front of a camera that was set up on a tripod. A few of them were beckoning for Changkyun to join.

“Come with me Kihyun. We can all take pictures together!” Changkyun exclaimed as he gently grabbed the boy’s wrist. But as Kihyun looked to the group, he decided that they wouldn't want someone they never talked to ruining their picture. 

“It’s ok, I need to take pictures with my family.” Kihyun mumbled, trying not to sound disappointed that Changkyun would be leaving his company.

Changkyun gave a slight frown, “Well, ok. If you're sure. Come take pictures with us later!”

The boy nodded, knowing very well that he wouldn’t. As Changkyun turned to run to his friends, Kihyun realized he wanted to tell him. As his only friend, he wanted the shorter boy to know. The other boys weren’t mean to him or anything, but Changkyun was the one that always made an effort to talk to or include him. 

“Changkyun wait,” Kihyun called, making the boy stop and turn around with an inquisitive look. “I…I wanted to tell you.” The shy boy looked to the ground as he continued nervously, “My family and I… we’re moving away. So, I’ll be going to a different middle school… But the one I’m going to… it’s supposed to be one of the best in the country and I passed an exam and it’s a good opportunity and I just wanted you to know so-“

“It sounds great Kihyun.” Changkyun said with a wide smile, stopping the other boy from his ramble. “I’ll miss you, but I know you’ll do great wherever you go. You are Yoo Kihyun, the smartest person in school. I’m sure we’ll meet again!”

Changkyun gave one last dazzling smile before running off to his classmates. Kihyun watched the boy leave, realizing that he was greedy in wanting a different reaction from his friend. Still, Changkyun said he would miss him, that had to count for something. Right? He was grateful to Changkyun for being so nice to him. But Kihyun couldn’t find the right way to tell him. With that thought, he sighed as he returned to his parents. And with a heavy heart, he left the school without saying a final goodbye to anyone. 

___________________________________________________________________  
Six years later

“Come on Changkyun, just a little further. Use your muscles!” Kihyun called to the boy in front of him. Changkyun responded with a turn of his head and a slight scowl, almost dropping the box he was carrying in the process. Kihyun only smiled, struggling with his own box and walking exactly two steps behind his friend as they headed down the empty street. “That’s the building, ahead to your right. We just have to walk up three flights of stairs and Jooheon will be waiting to let us into our new home!” Changkyun gave a small nod, unable to share in the excitement, nervously looking around him with every step. Smile disappearing, Kihyun swiftly set his box down in the middle of the street. With a few quick steps he caught up and grabbed his friend’s shoulders to look him in the eyes.

“Hey, look at me,” Kihyun demanded softly. As Changkyun slowly glanced up from the ground to meet his friend’s imploring gaze, Kihyun gave a sweet smile. “I’ll look for people ok? That’s my job. No one is going to bother you as long as I’m around. And now we can go to school and be together all the time. I will always keep you safe. Ok?” Changkyun looked back down at the ground but nodded again, a small smile tugging at his lips showing that he was reassured. 

Kihyun knew taking the busy bus had been hard on him. He just had to get him to their apartment. Only then could they both relax. 

Kihyun picked up his box again and followed behind Changkyun as they headed inside the apartment building. 

Kihyun was about to go up the stairs before realizing that Changkyun had stopped behind him. The nervous boy was repositioning the box in his arms, before he looked to Kihyun with wide, questioning eyes. He seemed to be asking for approval to go up the stairs. Kihyun smiled as he gave a small tilt of his head, gesturing for his friend to go ahead of him. 

Changkyun walked three steps in front as they trudged up the stairs in comfortable silence. Kihyun panicked as he heard the bang of a door and approaching footsteps from behind them. He ran up so that he was beside Changkyun and said, “Come on, let’s go a little faster.”

Much to Kihyun’s dismay, Changkyun did the complete opposite of his instructions. Stopping and turning abruptly, Changkyun looked to him with shaking eyes. “Why? Is someone coming?” His low but soft voice came out nervously, not raising above a whisper. Kihyun noted that it was the first time he had spoken since before boarding the bus that morning.

“No.” Kihyun lied, careful not to let his smile slip. “I’m just really excited to move in and I want to get there as fast as possible.” At those words, Changkyun seemed to be reassured and continued up the stairs at a faster pace. Kihyun was relieved when he could no longer hear footsteps behind them and concluded that they were safe. 

Kihyun was so preoccupied listening for more footsteps, he didn’t realize when Changkyun stood frozen a few steps behind him. As Kihyun turned back to his friend, he noticed him looking around frantically, eyes trained on the ground. Sensing trouble, Kihyun hurriedly set his box down on the stairs.

“What? What is it? What’s wrong?” Kihyun’s calm voice had changed to one of slight panic. He was trying to mask his worry, but didn’t think they had time to stop. The two still had to get into their apartment, away from anyone that could come up the stairs at any second. Changkyun raised his head up to look at his friend. Kihyun could tell that his sudden change in tone had startled Changkyun, who had become accustomed to sensing the slightest change in his voice.

“B- bracelet.” Changkyun stuttered out in a whisper. Kihyun hurried down and leaned his head in closer to hear.

“What did you say?”

“My bracelet.” Changkyun whispered again, tears starting to form in his eyes. “My bracelet is gone, it must have dropped somewhere.”

The weight of Changkyun’s words dawned on Kihyun as he looked to his friend’s bare wrist. “Let’s go back to look for it, I remember having it before we came into the building, it must be on the stairs.” Changkyun said quietly, as he went to go back down the stairs

“No!” shouted Kihyun frantically, as he grabbed the boys thin wrists. His voice came out a lot louder than he meant and Changkyun whipped his head around with a shocked expression. Kihyun immediately composed himself, painting a fake smile on his face and continued calmly. “I mean, you go up to the room. I’ll go back and get it.”

“Ok…” Changkyun mumbled, “But...” He looked straight into Kihyun’s eyes. “You… You have to find it. It’s the white and black beaded one.” Kihyun stared at his friend, not quite understanding his reaction. Sure, bracelets helped to keep Chankyun calm, but they had lots of spares for this reason.

As if seeing his friend’s confusion, Changkyun looked to the ground and mumbled quietly, “I know I have a lot of them… But this one’s my favourite and… it’s the one you gave me.” 

Realization dawned on Kihyun. Of course Changkyun would not want to part with his favourite bracelet. It made sense that he wouldn’t want to loose the one he wore the most.

“Go up to the room.” Kihyun repeated. “I promise I’ll find it,” he added with determination. Without another word, Kihyun sprinted down the stairs, keeping his gaze on the ground. He couldn’t risk Changkyun possibly meeting the person Kihyun had heard, he just couldn’t. This was better. His friend would go up the last flight of stairs to where Jooheon would be waiting. Kihyun reached the first floor, still looking on the ground for the bracelet. He also noticed that he was alone. The person he had heard was no longer in the hallway. “It will be ok, he will be ok,” Kihyun kept repeating to himself. “We told Jooheon when we would be here and we are right on time.”

At that moment, Kihyun felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. Not many people contacted Kihyun other than his family and two friends. He grabbed his phone to see a text from jooheon. 

Jooheony:  
‘Hey I got held up with something so ill be a few minutes late. Just stand outside the door and protect Changkyunnie from the noisy exchange student for a bit. Sorry! Be there asap! Dont hurt me Kihyunnie! <3’

Fuck, Kihyun thought as soon as he finished reading the text. He immediately started to bolt back up the stairs, swearing under his breath. He would never forgive himself if something happened while he was gone. All Kihyun could think about was how he had sent Changkyun up to a locked room, forcing him to wait alone in the hallway. And now, APPARENTLY, there was also an exchange student waiting to attack him! He knew he should have been more careful. 

“Please please please,” Kihyun prayed quietly. He was so focused on running that he failed to hear the scream that echoed through the hallway. Kihyun rounded the last corner and stared in horror at the scene waiting for him. 

Changkyun was standing in the hallway, hyperventilating and pushing at his throat, as if that would help his struggle for breath. He was looking straight ahead, unaware of his surroundings as a very confused young man stood beside him. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” the alarmed man shouted in an obvious accent. He must be the exchange student Jooheon mentioned. 

Although shock had made Kihyun momentarily freeze, he quickly snapped himself out of it. Without thought, he launched himself into the routine he had done hundreds of times over the past three years. 

“Move away.” Kihyun directed to the neighbour as he gently grabbed the stranger’s wrist. “Go back into your apartment, please.” He tugged the stranger away from Changkyun, keeping his voice calm but stern.

The supposed neighbour looked at Kihyun in shock and proceeded to say in broken Korean, “Do you know him? I didn’t do anything! I said hi! I didn’t! I-”

“Go back to your room.” Kihyun repeated. He released the man’s wrist, and tried to sound as serious and intimidating as possible without raising his voice. He could hear Changkyun’s breathing pace increase as he continued to put pressure on his throat with both hands now. “I can’t help him until you leave.” Kihyun explained slowly, hoping that the student knew enough Korean to understand.

The young stranger nodded and gave one last concerned glance to the distressed boy before hurrying into a nearby apartment. 

Kihyun immediately ran over to Changkyun and stood directly in front of him. He desperately wanted to grab the hands that were at his friend’s throat, but he knew he couldn’t make physical contact right away. No matter how many times this happened, Kihyun’s worry and heartache never got any better. Changkyun continued gasping for air as he stared straight ahead, unaware of Kihyun’s presence. 

Kihyun glanced around the narrow hallway before taking a deep breath. The location wasn’t ideal but it would have to do. It was just them. It would be ok, as long as no one else came into the hall. And Jooheon hurried the hell up.

First step.

Kihyun’s eyes pierced into his friend’s deep brown ones, “Changkyun,” he said sweetly and as quietly as he could while still being heard. “Changkyun,” he called again, louder this time. He saw his friend’s breathing slow down slightly and the pressure he was putting on his neck lessened. “Changkyun it’s me. It’s Kihyun. I’m here,” he said, loud in volume but sweet and calm in tone. With these words, Changkyun’s hands slowly dropped from his throat and down to his sides. Kihyun noted that he was still breathing quickly with blank eyes. He gently grabbed Chankyun’s hands, holding them tightly in front of him. 

Kihyun took another deep breath, staring deeply into Changkyun’s eyes and speaking loudly. “You are safe. Nothing will happen to you. No one else is here, it's just you and me. You need to breathe Changkyun. Slow, deep breaths.” As he spoke, Kihyun proceeded to gently rub the top of Changkyun’s hands in methodical circles. He took a deep breath in an attempt to get his friend to follow. Changkyun’s breathing slowed down a bit as he blinked multiple times, slowly coming back to reality.

Second step.

Kihyun smiled slightly, still staring into Changkyun’s eyes. He silently willed his friend to look at him. “You’re ok Changkyun. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. Ever. You’re my best friend and I love you more than anything. I’ll always be there for you, you know this.” Kihyun said sweetly. His voice got quieter as Changkyun’s breathing slowed down, bit my bit. Changkyun blinked multiple times and seemed to finally notice his surroundings. But Kihyun knew he wasn’t back quite yet.

Third step.

“There are lots of reasons why I love you Changkyun,” Kihyun continued, changing the direction of the circles he was rubbing on the boy’s hands. “I love that you’re my friend. I love your pure heart that is too kind for this world. I love how much you care about Jooheon and I. I love how dedicated you are when you study. I love how you asked me and Jooheon to live with you. I love how, even though your parents said you should wait a couple years, you were so determined to come to university. And I love that you’re here to experience it with me.” As Kihyun finished, Changkyun finally looked into his friend's eyes. Kihyun could see that he was finally being heard. Changkyun was listening. The fragile boy’s eyes were wide and tears were starting to form, his breathing almost normal.

Kihyun paused, gauging his friends behaviour. Not yet. Changkyun was listening, but it wasn’t quite enough.

Final step.

“So many people love you Changkyun. Your mother loves you. So much to the point that she only let you leave because I’m here.” Kihyun laughed softly, “And your dad loves you too. He told us that we need to learn lots of useless facts so that he can impress his friends with his random ancient history knowledge. Remember? I know you do. And Jooheon. You know that Jooheon loves you so much. He could have had different friends, being such a crazy and hyper kid, but he chose us. He chose you. He wanted to be your friend because he could see how awesome you are. He loves you and you are always his first priority, he’s just running late right now.” 

Kihyun took a deep breath, trying to send as much love and support through their joined hands. “And me. I love you Changkyun. You’re my best friend in the whole world.”

As Kihyun finished, Changkyun slowly leaned back against the wall and started to slide down until he was sitting on the ground. Kihyun kept a strong hold on his hands and knelt down with him. As he felt Changkyun squeeze his hands, he gave a small smile. Changkyun let go as he switched to a kneel and hugged Kihyun’s middle tightly. His head buried into Kihyun’s chest as tears fell down his face. Kihyun let out a sigh of relief as he wrapped his arms around the crying boy. He started stroking his friend’s soft black hair, whispering that everything was going to be ok.

Those were phrases that Kihyun had said countless times. Differing somewhat with each attack, but always following the same steps. The same carefully constructed outline. But there was always a worry in the back of Kihyun’s mind. What if it didn’t work this time? What if the words that helped now wouldn’t be enough in the future? What if Kihyun wasn’t enough? 

Thankfully, his worries weren’t fulfilled this time. It was over, and he knew that Changkyun would feel better after he cried in Kihyun’s arms for a bit.

“Kihyun! Changkyun!” A cheerful voice called up the stairs. “Sorry to keep you guys waiting I-“ Jooheon’s words cut off and his smile disappeared as he saw his friends hugging on the floor. “Wha-?”

“Lee Jooheon.” Kihyun interrupted. Even though he wanted to scream at his friend, he had to keep his voice calm and sweet. As Jooheon stared at them in concern, Kihyun said in the sweetest voice he could, “Lee Jooheon. I am going to murder you.”

Kihyun could see Jooheon catch onto his anger, despite the contrasting tone. No doubt he could guess what had happened. Jooheon gave an eye disappearing smile, huge dimples making an appearance. The taller boy dropped to the ground to meet his eyes. “You wouldn’t kill me in front of Kyunnie would you?” Jooheon asked in a high pitched voice as he tilted his head and widened his eyes adorably.

At Jooheon’s words Kihyun felt Changkyun let out a small giggle against his chest. Of course he could count on Jooheon to make their friend laugh, even when he was still recovering. He shot Jooheon a look that he hoped said ‘I’ll spare you this time but only because he laughed.’ Jooheon seemed to understand the look as his dimples somehow became deeper with his grin. The cheerful boy stood to pull keys out of his pocket as he walked to the door of their new apartment. 

Everything would be ok now. At least for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a note that Friendship is a bigger part of this story than romance - but it will be included eventually


	2. What I've Been Looking For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POV change to introduce two new characters! Hope you like it! - Jay

11:40am

Jooheon glanced at his phone, brushing his dark red hair out of his eyes. His friends would be at their apartment for 12 and Jooheon knew better than to doubt Kihyun’s punctuality. Jooheon had wanted to study for as long as possible before his friends came. Who knew that psychology professors would assign so many readings before classes even started? 

After being too distracted in his own house, he decided to come to the library. The two-story building wasn’t busy, except for a few scattered people who were reading quietly. Luckily, the library was only a 10-minute walk away, the perfect mid point between their apartment and the university. 

But now he figured he should probably pack up and go to the house. That would give him enough time to tidy up a bit. Maybe then Kihyun wouldn't nag about how dirty the apartment was, but Jooheon doubted it. 

As he loaded his bag, he saw a little girl at the table next to him looking around frantically. Jooheon sighed when he recognized the girl’s panicked eyes and increase in breathing pace. 

He had become too used to noticing when someone was about to cry. 

Jooheon watched silently before, sure enough, heavy tears started to stream down her face. She looked like she wanted to cry loudly but was trying to be quiet in the library. Jooheon couldn’t stand to watch anymore and approached the girl quietly, lowering himself to kneel beside her chair.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Jooheon asked softly, placing a hand on the back of her chair. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, thinking that he sounded like Kihyun when he talked to Changkyun.

The small girl, who looked about 5 or 6, raised her head that was buried in her hands. She looked at Jooheon, who smiled sweetly and tried to look like the nicest person in the world, not a terrifying stranger.

“I lost my stuffed bunny,” the girl stifled out quietly, Jooheon’s plan of not scaring her obviously working. It was times like this that Jooheon loved his cute dimples and eye smile. Everyone found his face friendly, which worked out for Jooheon because his personality was as cute and amiable as his face appeared.

“Ok, where are your parents?” Jooheon asked. Although the misplaced stuffed animal seemed to be the girl’s priority, he was more worried that a young child was at the library by herself.

“Mommy went to get groceries and told me to wait here and read with Tokki…but now he’s gone and I don’t know where he is.” The little girl told Jooheon, tearing up again. 

Ok, so the girl’s mother should be coming soon. He glanced at his phone. 11:43. He still had time. Jooheon couldn’t bear to leave the crying girl by herself.

“Do you want me to help you look for Tokki?” Jooheon asked sweetly. The girl nodded, visibly brightening up at the offer. “Ok then, stop crying and stand up. You have to help me look for him, don’t you?” Jooheon raised his tone and smiled with his eyes as the girl stood from her chair. His shameless aegyo had attracted stares from some people around them, but he didn’t care. If it helped the crying child, the kind boy didn’t mind what anyone else thought of him.

“Now, show me all the places you remember being with Tokki.” With his words, the little girl suddenly took his hand and led him away from the study area. Jooheon followed her, leaving his school bag and wallet on the table. He was too preoccupied with his mission to think about the safety of his possessions.

The girl walked Jooheon to the other side of the library before stopping in the middle of a random aisle and letting go of the boy’s hand. Jooheon looked down to see the girl tugging at her two long braids, seeming to be deep in thought. Jooheon waited patiently, smiling at the people who squeezed past them in between the shelves. They probably wondered why a red haired boy and a small child were just standing in the middle of the… Jooheon looked around to find a sign… The geography section. They wouldn’t be wrong, as Jooheon himself also wondered why they were in the middle of the geography section.

Before he could voice his question, the little girl snapped out of her thoughts to look up at the older boy. Jooheon was surprised to see that she was smiling. “We have to find Tokki!” She exclaimed happily, as if she had just come to a revolutionary realization. Jooheon stood there, dumbstruck. Of course they had to find the bunny, that’s the reason she was crying. 

The child seemed to sense Jooheon’s confusion as she wrapped her small hands around one of his and declared brightly, “We were playing hide and seek. Tokki would hide and I would find him. But then I was looking for him in the castle and I found a sparkly book, so I brought it to the table to read.” The little girl looked up at Jooheon brightly, her large, dark brown eyes shining. Sensing Jooheon’s continued confusion, she gave a little giggle and clarified. “So, that means he’s still hiding and we just have to find him!” She finished excitedly, obviously looking forward to the new round of her game.

Jooheon finally clued into the logic of the girl, and tried his best to look excited at playing hide and seek with a child and her stuffed rabbit. “And where do you think Tokki would be hiding? We should find him quick before he gets lonely,” he urged with a smile. 

The girl gave a lopsided grin and several nods. “I’ll look in the poetry section, because I was there before. And you look in the castle! Tokki really likes it there!” And before Jooheon could say a word,she ran off in a different direction.

Great. He had succeeded in losing a child. Kihyun always told him it would happen. But Jooheon had thought that it would be his own, and at a much later date. 

At a loss, he supposed that the only thing to do was to find this castle. But there was one problem. This was the first time Jooheon had been to this library and he had yet to encounter a castle. Was it a real castle? Or something that resembled one in the child’s imagination? He wasn’t sure. 

As Jooheon stood blankly with all these questions running through his head, he failed to hear someone trying to get his attention.

“Excuse me,” a voice called.

Jooheon snapped out of his thoughts and turned around with a very educated, “Huh?”

Standing there in the middle of the aisle was a young man. Slightly shocked, Jooheon took in his appearance slowly. He had light blond hair and was wearing black ripped jeans, a plain white shirt, and a black leather jacket. The man glanced around Jooheon’s legs, an amused smile on his face. Jooheon couldn’t help but catch his breath. The man was beyond attractive. Probably the most attractive person he had ever seen. Jooheon stared at the stranger’s perfect porcelain skin and eyes that seemed to draw him in.

“Lost your friend?” The handsome man asked, with a cute and slightly mischievous grin.

Jooheon had to force himself to stop staring and realized that he hadn’t heard a word that was spoken to him. So, naturally, he responded with another graceful, “What?”

The man laughed softly, glancing at the ground and back to the dumbstruck boy. Jooheon found himself staring again. His eyes went from the stranger’s dazzling smile, down to his neck. He trailed over the buff chest and muscly arms holding a familiar bag and his large hands that were wrapped around an equally as familiar wallet. 

Wait. What?

Jooheon regained his senses as he realized that the man was holding Jooheon’s own bag and wallet.

The man must have caught Jooheon’s slightly alarmed expression because he swiftly handed over his belongings. “Oh, I was studying over there and saw you comfort the little girl. You left your stuff on the table, and well... I was keeping an eye on it, but I thought maybe you’d like to have it with you.” When finished his explanation, the man put an arm up to rub the back of his neck nonchalantly, causing his jacket to ride up and display his extremely toned forearms.

“Th-thanks,” Jooheon managed to stutter after taking his bag and forcing himself to focus his eyes on his wallet, not the stunning human being in front of him.

“Speaking of the kid,” the man continued, adjusting his own backpack in one smooth motion, “where did she go?”

I lost her, Jooheon thought. But no, he couldn't say that. Jooheon didn’t want to seem irresponsible. Yes, he may have just left his wallet for a thief to take. But if this man liked kids, or wanted kids, he couldn’t know that Jooheon had lost one. Jooheon suddenly gave his head a little shake, as if the physical movement would also get rid of his crazy thoughts. Why should Jooheon care about seeming irresponsible, or if the stranger wanted kids? Jooheon then realized the man was watching him argue with himself, a small grin on his face.

Quick Jooheon, say something.

“I have to find the castle!” Jooheon blurted out, voice coming out louder than he meant to.

The man gave a small laugh again as he took a step closer to Jooheon. The flustered boy wanted to keep his distance, but couldn’t take a step back without bumping into a bookshelf. So Jooheon swiftly turned away and pointed in the direction the girl ran off to. “I mean, she ran off to look somewhere, and told me to look in the castle. But see…” Jooheon fidgeted, looking at the ground and giving a nervous laugh. “I have no idea what she meant by that.”

Just then the attractive man gave Jooheon a big smile. Not a sly or amused one, but a genuine smile. His eyes became small crescents as he showed his perfect white teeth. For a second he didn’t suit his leather jacket or mysterious aura. He just looked cute. “Well, I can help you then,” the man said, tilting his head slightly.

“Really?” asked Jooheon.

The man nodded, face turning back into his small, amused smile. “Yeah, I know what she’s talking about. Follow me.” 

With that, the man started to walk in the opposite way the girl had run. Jooheon followed close behind. As they walked, the man spoke quietly, as if not to disturb the other patrons, but loud enough for Jooheon to hear his sweet voice. “I think she was talking about the kids section, it’s on the second floor. There’s a big toy castle and inside are the kids books. Small tables and chairs too. I’m surprised she came to the study area to read and didn’t just stay up there.”

Jooheon shrugged before remembering that he was behind the stranger, so he answered awkwardly, “Yeah I’m not sure, sometimes kids have a logic that only makes sense to them.” With that the man gave a short burst of laughter. A loud, genuine laugh that earned him looks of distaste from the studying students they walked past. This laugh was different from his previous ones.

The other times the man laughed, Jooheon felt like he was laughing at his expense. He couldn’t help but feel like this man was studying him. The stranger’s eyes always seeming to linger on Jooheon with an amused smile. But now it was different. He wasn’t laughing at Jooheon’s nervousness or stupidity. Jooheon had unintentionally made him laugh. But as the stranger continued to laugh, Jooheon couldn’t help but think that he would do anything to be able to always hear that slightly dorky, carefree sound.

As they emerged from the narrow aisles and approached the stairs, the man slowed down slightly to walk beside Jooheon. No, he must be imagining it. Maybe he just slowed down because he found the stairs difficult. Although, as Jooheon subtly snuck a look at the stranger’s muscular calves, he couldn’t help but think that couldn’t be the case. The two boys walked up the stairs in oddly comfortable silence. Jooheon tried to keep his eyes looking forward, but when he glanced at the stranger, he was looking back at him. As Jooheon averted his eyes quickly, the man laughed softly.

When they arrived on the second floor, the muscular man stopped. He abruptly pointed straight ahead of them, slightly startling Jooheon. “See, there’s the castle. We can look there.” The man was smiling and looked proud of himself. He kept his arm suspended in the air, waiting for Jooheon to look in the right direction. The boy looked to where he was pointing and saw a big blue and pink plastic castle. Yup, that is probably the castle the little girl was talking about. Jooheon turned to see the man was still smiling at him, as if waiting for a response.

“Yep…there’s the castle.” Jooheon repeated rather dully. Smooth. Jooheon had to look away from the man’s blinding smile before his heart burst out of his chest. “We are looking for a stuffed rabbit. So...maybe I’ll look on the inside and you can look around the outside?” Jooheon suggested. He honestly just wanted to split up to briefly give his racing heart a break.

“Sure! Bunny. Got it chief.” The man gave Jooheon a little salute as he gracefully walked away. Jooheon took a deep breath, slightly relieved to be able to focus on his mission instead of the attractive mystery man. He entered the plastic castle and looked around. The inside was fairly big and the shelves were filled with books. Small tables and chairs were in the middle, exactly as the stranger had described. He started to look around the empty area and through all the shelves, searching for the stuffed bunny.

Jooheon was so focused that when he turned around he screamed in alarm. The handsome man was standing directly in front of him, a giant smile on his face.

Seemingly unfazed by Jooheon’s frightened yell, the man continued to smile and held up a fluffy, pink stuffed bunny. “I found the bunny!” the man exclaimed excitedly. Seeing a very hot man in a leather jacket smiling widely as held a pink rabbit was a rare sight. Jooheon considered himself very lucky to witness such a beautiful miracle.

“That’s great! Where was it?” Jooheon smiled as he recovered from his shock and took the bunny from the man to inspect it. He couldn’t wait to give the toy back to the girl.

“It was on a shelf, hiding behind a big picture book.” The man still looked very proud of himself as he continued, “You know I think it’s very fitting that I found it, lots of people say I look like a bunny you know.” Jooheon looked up from the toy to see that the man had stuck his front teeth out and over his bottom lip. He also opened his eyes wide, as if to make a bunny face. Jooheon let out a loud laugh, but he had to admit that the man did look like a cute little bunny. His adorable facial features and ears that stuck out only made him cuter in Jooheon’s eyes.

Suddenly, the red haired boy remembered his friends and the time limit he had. “Oh crap.” Jooheon said, the smile disappearing from his face. As he reached for his phone from his back pocket, he unconsciously held out the bunny to the man. The stranger took back the pink toy without a word, obvious concern on his face from Jooheon’s sudden change in emotion.

Jooheon looked at the time. 12:00. The exact time they said they would be there. Shit. The red haired boy tried to remain visibly calm. He just had to send Kihyun a text letting him know he would be late. Kihyun and Changkyun were together. They would be okay. 

To: Kimom  
‘Hey I got held up with something so ill be a few minutes late. Just stand outside the door and protect Changkyunnie from the noisy exchange student for a bit. Sorry! Be there asap! Dont hurt me Kihyunnie! <3’

That should be sufficient. As Jooheon looked back up to the man, he saw concern on his face. Jooheon smiled sheepishly, giving an awkward laugh “Sorry…Just forgot something.”

“Everything ok?” The man asked. Jooheon was about to fake a smile and reassure the stranger that he was fine, but he hesitated upon looking at the man. Jooheon wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but the man looked truly concerned. For a second, Jooheon felt like the most important person in the world. It was like the stranger wasn’t asking out of politeness, but because he actually cared.

Jooheon decided to stick to his original plan anyway. So, he smiled and nodded. “Yeah of course, let’s get this bunny back to his friend,” he said cooly. Without a word the man nodded and they both proceeded to walk back downstairs in silence. Jooheon couldn’t help but notice that the man kept glancing in his direction, worry still evident in his face. Jooheon just kept smiling at him, not wanting to cause the stranger any concern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit a bit of writers block and comments are VERY encouraging and very much appreciated! I know this is a different type of story but I hope people are still liking it! - Jay

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments are greatly appreciated! Have a great day! - Jay


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